Tag Archives: Winneshiek

In 1886, the Iowa and Minnesota Telephone Company ran telephone lines through Decorah, connecting the region to long lines to the east, and Decorah became the central station for Winneshiek county lines in 1895. Farmers were slower to connect their … Continue reading →

A legion of FamilySearch.org volunteers have manually indexed the 1940 census line by line to come up with a searchable database of the census records. Though the entire country has not (as of today) been completely indexed, Minnesota and Iowa … Continue reading →

Brunt & Parman, a wholesale and retail pharmacy in Decorah, commissioned this panoramic photo around 1908. The pharmacy produced and sold postcards and other photographic products. Founded by Isaac W. Brunt and E. J. Parman in 1893, the pharmacy operated … Continue reading →

Reader Randy Freese asked about a lonely tombstone on a scenic bluff over North Bear Creek. The grave site provides a broad view over Bear Creek valley and the site of the former Bear Creek Woolen Mill, which was founded … Continue reading →

This Memorial Day, NorwegianRidge.com will honor the WWII service members from Hauge Lutheran Church; fortunately, it seems that all came home from the war. The list below has been transcribed from a framed poster in the basement of the church. … Continue reading →

Plat maps are an excellent resource for local history research. They show where a family lived and farmed, can demonstrate migration over time, and provide context when digging through census records. They can also be used to identify the locations cited … Continue reading →

This 1875 A.T. Andreas Illustrated Map of Winneshiek County looks like the area was sparsely settled, but not all farms are indicated. Note that you can zoom in and out, move around, close the cluttery sidebar, and view it in … Continue reading →

It’s hard to believe that Highland Township, in the northeast corner of Winneshiek County, Iowa, was once at the western edge of civilization. Here are excerpts from some early histories that show the difficulties as well as the promise of … Continue reading →

These are some excellent free books available online. In addition to some really colorful early history, these books list many names of settlers and some of their accomplishments. Almost all of them are downloadable as PDFs – so you can … Continue reading →

Norwegian Ridge was an early name for the area around Spring Grove, Minnesota. From the beginning of the immigration boom from Norway in the late 1850s, many settlers made their first American homes in this region. In 1852, quite a … Continue reading →